Fifth-round DL Dial more plugger than pass-rusher

In 2009, the 49ers used a late-round pick on Ricky Jean Francois, a run-stuffing, role-player defensive lineman in college who won a national championship at an SEC school.

Four years later, after Jean Francois signed with the Colts, they used a late-round pick on his potential replacement in Quinton Dial, a run-stuffing, role-player defensive lineman in college who won two national championships at an SEC school.

The 49ers hope the similarities between Jean Francois and Dial, a fifth-round pick from Alabama, extend to the NFL. Jean Francois, a seventh-round pick from LSU, performed his backup duties so capably that he signed a four-year, $22 million deal with Indianapolis in March.

To see if the largely anonymous Dial had such potential I reached out to draft analyst Mike Detellier, a friend of the blog who works for the LSU radio network and has an advanced degree in all things SEC.

Dial (6-6, 304), a community college transfer who had 45 tackles, 1.5 sacks and zero starts in two seasons at Alabama, hailed his run-stuffing ability when asked about his strengths on a conference call after he was drafted. Jean Francois (6-3, 295), who has three career sacks, is also known more for his stoutness against the run.

“He knows his role,” Detellier said. “What you’ve got is a big man who is strong and his strength is his run-defense skills. His job was to stop the run and he did a terrific job doing that. He’s not going to give you a big pass-rush, that’s not his game. He was the big plugger up front for Alabama.”

And Detellier can envision Dial successfully assuming a similar blue-collar role with the 49ers, who, like Alabama, run a 3-4 scheme. Dial primarily played defensive end in the Tide’s defense, which included linebackers C.J. Mosley, a first-team all-SEC pick, and Nico Johnson, a fourth-round pick of the Chiefs.

Worth noting: Alabama led the nation in run defense the past two seasons.

“At Alabama, the deal was for the linemen to stack block and have the linebackers drive through and make plays,” Detellier said. “Well, guess what that looks like? That’s what San Francisco does: They have their D-linemen stack things up and have their fantastic linebackers blow through the gap.

“That’s what Quinton does best. So it’s a good fit. He’s played multiple positions at Alabama. He’s played end. He’s played inside. Listen, when you come out of that Nick Saban program you’ve been well-coached.”

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Dial signed with Alabama out of Clay-Chalkville (Ala.) High, but had to attend East Mississippi Community College because he didn’t qualify academically. The fact that Alabama kept him on its wish list is notable, Detellier said.

“How many guys does Saban sign from the junior college ranks?” he said. “He doesn’t need to sign JC guys. He can go get high school player that can come in and play for four years. That tells you a lot about Quinton’s ability.”

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Alabama’s most heralded defensive lineman last year was Jesse Williams, a second-team, all-SEC pick who was a two-year starter. Williams was projected as a possibly early round pick, but fell to the fifth round where he was taken by the Seahawks. The 49ers took Dial just 20 picks later.